Xref: utzoo news.groups:7402 news.admin:4819 Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cornell!uw-beaver!rice!titan!phil From: phil@titan.rice.edu (William LeFebvre) Newsgroups: news.groups,news.admin Subject: Re: A moderator's liability (was flack about rec.humor.funny) Message-ID: <2583@kalliope.rice.edu> Date: 14 Feb 89 16:45:31 GMT References: <2730@looking.UUCP> <3850@cbnews.ATT.COM> <2559@kalliope.rice.edu> <1989Feb10.034157.25972@utzoo.uucp> <2562@kalliope.rice.edu> <1989Feb12.014406.22500@utzoo.uucp> Sender: usenet@rice.edu Reply-To: phil@Rice.edu (William LeFebvre) Organization: Rice University, Houston Lines: 58 In article <1989Feb12.014406.22500@utzoo.uucp> henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) writes: >In article <2562@kalliope.rice.edu> phil@Rice.edu (William LeFebvre) writes: >>>[old-timers] tend to feel... that the johnny-come-latelies >>>whining about the loss of "the spirit of Usenet" don't know what they're >>>talking about. >> >>I see. Or to put it another way, I don't know what I'm talking about? >... >I can't say about you in particular, but any time somebody starts talking >about the "spirit of Usenet" as if it were something sacred that will >surely be destroyed if the net changes significantly... I have to wonder >whether that person is aware of how much the net has changed already, >and how much the "spirit of Usenet" has changed to match. Depending on >what aspect of it you're interested in, the "spirit of Usenet" either is >long dead or has proved remarkably resilient in the face of continued >change and growth. Well, first and foremost, I felt that your initial response was unjustified, unprovoked, and unnecessary (and maybe a few other un* words). I haven't been around as long as you, but I didn't just start reading last fall! I never have and never will "whine" about the loss of the "spirit of Usenet". Change is inevitable in anything, whether we like it or not. I know that Usenet has undergone many changes already. As it continues to grow it will change even more. I was not "whining", merely commenting. The particular facet of the "spirit of Usenet" that I had in mind when I wrote that comment was the understanding that all information provided via Usenet is "as is". We are all doing this out of a sense of helpfulness and co-operation. And that the exchange is kind of like one huge drawn-out conversation. Along with that, everyone understands that what worked for me might not work for you, and that everyone makes mistakes, and that the statements made on Usenet are not necessarily correct, valid, or even useful. I think that "spirit" still exists to a large extent. But I fear that it will wane as many new sites and people "join up". Correct me if I am wrong, but Usenet readership is growing faster than ever, is it not? It seems like the delta-readership is itself always increasing: maybe delta-delta-readership is constant, but it might also be increasing ("delta" comes from calculus, y'all). I'm not saying "this is the end of Usenet". I'm just saying that it is changing even from what it is now (which is very different from what it was 5 years ago, etc.). I'm also saying that we need to seriously consider the ramifications of those changes: in this case, the increased likelihood that someone one the net will decide that a moderator, backbone manager, or poster is liable for incorrect or inappropriate information distributed via Usenet. Maybe my fears are unjustified. I've never worried about it before, because I wasn't in a position where it really mattered until about a year ago. William LeFebvre Sun-Spots moderator Department of Computer Science Rice University